Spear gun



G. B. WOODS 2,818,849

Jan. 7, 1958' SPEAR GUN FiledOct. 4. 1954 INVENTOR George Bryon! Woods, Oeod. By Doris McKay Woods, Exec.

SPEAR GUN George Bryant woodsydeceased, late of Washington, D. C., by Doris McKay Woods, executrix, Washington,

D. (3., assignor of one-third to Edward Connors, In, Washington, D. C.

Application October 4, 1954, Serial No. 460,106. '5 Claims. (CL 124- 22)" This invention relates to a Spear'or Harpoon Gun, such as commonly used for under-water fishing. With conventional Spear Guns, considerable strength is required to cock the gun. The regular manner of cocking the gun is to place the gun stock in the groin and to pullback with both arms on an elastic band that is fitted-in a notch in the spear or harpoon. To assist in cocking the gun, the butt end of'the gun stockis sometimes pro- To cock such avided witha soft packing or the like. gun, it is obvious that it takes considerable pounds of arm pull, which makes it difficult-and sometimesdangerous viously indicated, it is very difiicult and oftentimes dan-;

gerous to pull back the bands and attach themto the spear.

Conventional guns with the common aforedescribed cocking arrangement provide no, adjustment of muzzle velocity and the maximum arm strength to load such a,

gun is just prior to reaching cocked position.

It is the primary object of this invention to leverage in cocking the gun whereby the gun can be cocked by anyone, irrespective of age or physical. strength and can be easily cocked while swimming on the surface or under water.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cocking means, whereby the fixed ends of the elastic band are moved forward with the loop or center portion being disposed in a set position in attachment to the spear, contrary to conventional practice where the loop orcenter portion is pulled rearwardly, and after being so tensioned, is attached to the spear. In other words, instead of cocking the gun last when the elastic band'is under maximum tension and most dangerous to handle, accordingto this invention, the gun is cocked first at the beginning of'the progressive elastic tension. The trigger is then immediately secured by a safety device against accidental release and a leverage is utilized of perhaps 5 to l'to move the fixed ends of the elastic band forward to any desired tension of up to 75 01 1100 pounds, for example.

Thus, the present invention comprehends the provision of a gun having a barrel formed on opposite facings with ratchet teeth and the provision'of-a cocking lever,- which carries pivoted pawls that engage the ratchet teeth. 'The ends of the elastic band are carried by the lever with the center portion thereof initially attached to the spear. The pawls alternately act on the ratchet teeth, so that one pawl holds against the backward pull of the elastic with the other pawl moving forward on its ratchet teeth, the pawls alternating as fulcrums, and holding means.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cocking means whereby an adjustable range and degree of spear penetration can be obtained.

r d S tes Pa en '0 2,818,849 Patented Jan, v7, 1958 v Another object of this invention is to provide a simple, compact and easily operatedspear gun, which can be produced on a low-cost basis.

The preferred form of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein;

Fig. 1 is atop plan view of a. gun constructed 1n accordance with the principles of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

r9 ICC Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the

spear gun 10 includes an elongated straight rod 12 which forms the barrel of the gun. A pistol type hand grip or butt 14 iscarried by one end of the barrel and the butt and'barrel may be integral and formed from tubular stock with their outer ends plugged so that the gun is buoyant. Guides 16 and 18 upstand from the outer end of the barrel and the butt, at the inner end of the barrel, and are'formed with longitudinally aligned guide openings to receive a harpoon or spear 20 and support the spear for dragless, free movement under the impetus of, an elasticband 22, the center of which is positioned behind the rearward end of the spear. The band may be made from either natural or synthetic rubber or similar material. The guide 16 supports the rear end of the spear and receives the elastic band 22 which is lodged behind the end. The guide 18 supports the spear inward of the barbed forward end thereof which projects beyond the barrel.

The inner end of the barrel is formed with an angular vertical opening 24 in the lower portion ofwhich a pin 26 is transversely fixed. The upper end of a. trigger 28 is pivoted on the pin and the trigger is formed at its upper end forward of the pin with an L-shaped extension 30. The vertical or upstanding free locking portion 32 of the trigger is adapted to fit in a notch 34 provided on the underside of the spear, A spring 36 is coiled on the. pin 26 and has one end offset and anchored in the trigger and the other end offset and attached to the barrel so that the spring constantly biases the free portion 32 into engagement with the notch to hold the spear in the guides.

A safety mechanism is also provided and includes a collar 38 which is rotatably and slidably circumposed on a the inner end of the barrel. The collar has a circumferential slot 40 through which the portion 32 of the trigger extends. A bayonet type slot 42 is axially formed in the inner end of the collar and cooperates with a pin 44 to hold thecollar in locked safety position. The collar, in this respect, is moved rearwardly on the barrel with the pin, which radially projects from the barrel off to the side thereof, disposed in the axial portion of the slot v42. The collar is rotated on the barrel to move the offset portion of the slot 42 onto the pin and thereby lock the collar against axial movement on the barrel. The offset portion of the slot 42 holds the collar against axial movement and thereby locks the trigger, since the locking end portion 32 of the trigger is held in the circumferential slot 40, which is provided to enable the collar to rotate relative to the trigger which can only pivot forwardly and rearwardly on the pin 26 within the confines of the walls of the opening 24. Thus when collar 38 is locked against movement axially of the barrel by the pin 44, the portion 32 of the trigger is engaged by the shoulder at the forward end of slot 40 and pivotal movement of the trigger is thereby prevented.

When the collar is rotated to move it 01f the pin and align the pin with the axial portion of the slot 42, the trigger is still held by the spring. However, rearward finger pressure on the trigger will pivot the trigger, against the bias of the spring, to move the end portion 32 out of engagement with the notch 34.

The elastic band 22 is loaded or tensioned by a cocking nieans 46 which includes a fork lever 48., The u'pper bifurcated end of the lever includes arins or b'ranches 50 and 52 which straddle the sides of the barrel and extend above the upper side thereof. The barrel is disposed between the branches and the ends 54 and 56 of the elastic band are secured to the free upper ends of the branches, 1

as by inserting the ends in openings and kriotting them behind the openings.

The branches carry transversely disposed upper and lower shafts 58 and 60 which are spaced vertically apart and disposed in vertical alignment. Spacer sleeves 62 are circumposed on the shafts-and between the branches are located pawls 64' and 66 on the center of the shafts.

The upper pawl 64 is pivoted at its forward end on the upper shaft 58 and extends rearwardly therefrom so that it is weighted rearwardly to drop on the upper side of the the barrel. The lower pawl 66 is pivoted intermediateits ends on the lower shaft with the weighted forward end causing the rear end of the pawl to constantly remain in contact with the underside of the barrel. Of course, spring means may be used to hold the pawls in such desired contact and releases may be associated with the spring me'ans to lock the pawls in inoperative positions.

Racks 68 and 70 are formed on the upper and lower sides of the barrel at the front thereof and the pawls are in meshing contact with the forwardly facing teeth thereof. The pawls lockingly engage the teeth and are moved by the lever in step by step alternately locking fashion along the racks on the barrel. As the lever is walked forward on the barrel by grasping and rocking the hand grip end of the lever back and forth, the pawls are placed in alternately locking and moving relation with the racks and the elastic band is loaded to the desired tension.

One hand is placed on the butt to hold the gun while the lever is actuated with the other hand to cock the gun. When the gun is cocked and after the safety is released, the hands are placed in position. on the butt and end of the lever to hold and support the gun for aiming and firing. When the trigger is squeezed, the spear is released and the elastic band propels it forwardly at a speed and for a distance dependent on the load placed on the band. Thus, the speed and distance of the spear travel is controlled by the tension imposed on the band during cocking. The ease of cocking to load the band enables anyone, regardless of age and other strength factors, to load the elastic band to the desired tension.

To load the gun, the spear is inserted rearwardly into the guides until the locking portion 32 of the trigger "seats in the notch 34. The collar is then locked on the pin to lock the trigger against accidental firing while cocking the gun. The gun is easily cocked by moving the lever forward on the ratchet teeth.

What is claimed is:

1. A spear or harpoon gun comprising a barrel having a hand grip at its rear end, a trigger pivotally carried by the barrel adjacent the hand grip, guide means on the barrel for holding a spear in firing position on the barrel, said spear having means engageable with the trigger for holding it in the guide means, a lever vertically straddling the barrel and carrying pawls which are disposed above and below the barrel, said barrel having ratchet teeth formed on its upper and lower sides cooperating with the pawls; said pawls being alternately engaged with their adjoining ratchet teeth so that the lever may be walked forwardly on the barrel and an elastic band carried by the lever and adapted to be positioned behind the spear and tensioned by the forward movement of the lever to propel the spear when the trigger is pulled.

2. A spear gun comprising a barrel having guide means for holdinga spear in firing position, a trigger pivotally carried by the barrel and adapted to lockingly engage the spear, a lever depending from the barrel and having an upper fork end vertically straddling the barrel and carrying a pair of alternately acting pawls, one of said pawls being disposed above the barrel and the other below the barrel, said barrel having ratchet teeth formed on its upper and lower sides and said pawls being in alternate engagement with the ratchet teeth to lock the lever in selected positions on they barrel and an elastic band carried by the branches of the fork end of the lever and adapted to be positioned behind the spear to propel the spear from the barrel when the trigger is pulled to release the spear. I

3. A spear gun comprising a barrel having opposing upperand lower sides formed with ratchet teeth and having guide means for holding a spear or similar projectile in firing position above its upper side, a trigger pivotally carried by the barrel and having means adapted to releasably engage the spear andlock it in the guide means, alever having opposing sections vertically straddling the barrel at r ightangles to the sides with the rtachet teeth, pawls pivotally carried by the sections and disposed above and below the upper and lower sides of the barrel in engagement with the ratchet teeth and an elastic band carried by the sections and adapted to be positioned behind the spear and to propel the spear when the trigger is pulled. I p

4 A spear gun comprising a barrel having upper and lower faces formed with ratchet teeth, a lever having an upper fork end having opposing arms straddling the barrel and disposed along the sides thereof, pawls pivotally carried by the arms and engaged with the ratchet teeth to hold the lever in set positions along the barrel, an elastic band having ends attached to the arms, guide means on the barrel for holdinga spear or similar projectile in firing position on the barrel, said elastic band having a portion adapted to fit behind the spear whereby the force of the band propels the spear and means carried by the barrel for releasably holding the spear in set position for-firing. i h I 5 A spear as claimed in claim 4, wherein said last means includes a trigger pivotally carried by the barrel and having a locking section adapted to engage the spear and spring means acting on the trigger to releasably hold the locking section in engagement with the spear, and a safety element on the barrel engageable with the locking section to lock the trigger.

lieferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 369,153 Alley Aug. 30, 1887 FOREIGN PATENTS 854,049 France Jan. 2, 1940 886,437 France July 5, 1943 477,810 Italy Feb. 9, 1953 

